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It was one of the many mysteries surrounding his mum’s murder. Why hadn’t the murderer taken the antique ring valued at well over a hundred thousand dollars? Ray’s argument was that it would condemn the murderer if he or she were caught with it.
He swallowed, remembering right before they closed his mum’s casket when his dad had slid the ring off her finger and handed it to T, saying in a choked whisper, ‘For your future bride.’
T had pocketed it, more serious than Ray had ever seen him. Now he held it up and said, “This is just on loan, Macey-girl, so don’t go falling in love with it. The press will pounce if it’s not on your finger.”
“Oh? I didn’t think of a ring.”
Ray’s stomach did violent flips as Macey held up her hand and T slid the ring on. Her fingers were long, slender, tanned. The ring looked brilliant on her. It fit well. Ray selfishly wanted to pull it off and tell T to find his own fiancée.
He closed his eyes and prayed for strength. For now, Macey was T’s fiancée. Ray had to somehow deal with that.
“Looks smashing, darling,” T teased. “Let’s do this.”
“Thank you.”
They turned, and Ray kept his arm around Macey as they walked.
“You look good, bro. Almost as handsome as I would,” T said. “This is going to be awesome. Here’s the deal—if anybody calls us on the switch, you owe me two days of pretending to be me and sitting through Zoom meetings while Macey protects me, and we’ll have Chad take us on a helicopter ride to show Macey the country for a day and maybe go hiking with Curt. Do you think he’d take us climbing?”
“Curt hasn’t climbed in over eight months.” Ray did not want Macey spending two fun days with his twin, but he said confidently, “Yes on the bet. I’ll just dial back my IQ thirty points and use small words.”
Macey laughed, and Ray’s chest swelled. Nobody would figure out the switch. As long as he turned slightly toward Macey to hide his dimple and their dad didn’t say anything. The king was too press-savvy to say anything, though, and Kiera would be doing morning lessons with Lisa.
“Perfect,” T said. “And I’ll make sure to belch loudly and pick my nose so no one wonders why the general isn’t acting like himself.”
Macey pulled a face. “I’ve never seen Ray do either.”
Ray grinned.
“What do I get once I pull it off?” he asked so he wouldn’t steal a quick kiss.
“Name it. The sky’s the limit, since I’ll probably win.” Tristan winked. “What do you want?”
Macey, he wanted to say. He scrambled for another idea. He couldn’t have her, and he knew it. “You find a way to get out of meetings for a day and we take Macey to the military base and training center.”
“Sweet!” T crowed. “I win either way. I love getting out of meetings, and spending the day with you two and Chad sounds ideal.”
Macey was the one looking ‘sweet.’ She gazed at Ray with gratitude. “I’d love that. Thank you.”
“Are you feeling comfortable with this, Macey?” T asked as they reached the main staircase.
“You two betting?”
“No!” T laughed. “The brother switch.”
“It’s a brilliant idea.” She smiled sweetly up at Ray.
“Of course it is. I thought of it.” T bounced down the stairs. He was in good spirits today. Ray could only imagine what was stirring in his brother’s brain. He clearly thought he was smart, pushing the two of them together. Ray wouldn’t complain, not for a second, but he still couldn’t mess up the fake engagement with his strong feelings for Macey. He’d act the part this morning, and enjoy every second, then he’d get back to working with Macey to protect T and find the murderer. Macey here was a fresh breath of air—not just for him, but for the case. He’d hit wall after wall; hopefully she could see what he couldn’t and they’d finally bring his mum’s murderer to justice.
They made it to the foyer where their dad was waiting. The king smiled at Macey. “Good morning, Macey. You look beautiful.”
“Thank you.” Macey beamed as if she were rarely complimented. Ray wished he knew more about her, about her family and her past and her friends. He’d tried not to get too personal yesterday, fighting his feelings. He should continue that, but he was burning with curiosity.
The king’s gaze transferred to Ray and then quickly darted to T and back again. “Boys.” He shook his head. “Today? Really? We haven’t had good news for a press conference since before …” He broke off, and he didn’t look like the confident, reigning monarch. He was exhausted and every bit the mourning husband.
“Sorry, Pops. It was my idea.” T clapped his hand on their dad’s shoulder. “Ray needed a challenge today.”
Ray found himself holding Macey tighter to his side, not wanting to let her go—ever. This beautiful woman was a challenge—one for him to resist falling for, not a fun challenge like T was passing the switch off to their father as.
